the bad guys have been scraped off the pavement by CPS and hauled off to jail. They are not sure what to do about Ghost Rider, they know nothing about securing suspects that can walk through walls. They apply the things that seem to work for teleporters, and hope for the best.

The parade resumes. When the “Free Elections Now” float reaches the end of the route, the riders abandon the float and attempt to flee, but are caught and arrested by police, for “public mischief”. The ANWPP arranges a debrief meeting with the Posse for the next day (Saturday) at McDougall centre.

The Posse heads to a bar so Gallowglas can get some Scotch.

The next day, everyone meets back at the secure conference room in McDougall Centre. The Deputy Superintendent of the ANWPP is there, as is the Inspector-in-Charge and a number of lower ranking officers. AISS is represented, and a government lawyer is present, as well as the Posse (less C4 and Ghost, who had other commitments and could not attend). The Deputy Superintendent starts, speaking to the IinC, “Well, lets get started. This is your meeting, Inspector Smith, I’m only here as a witness to the events involved”. The IinC is clearly flustered by having the DS present, but he carries on as best he can.

The four suspects have been identified as:

  • Tucker McElroy (AKA Rhinestone Cowboy), PO Box 2497 Cheyenne WY, priors for assault, domestic assault, petty theft
  • Jimmy Cowburn (AKA Bullwhip, Bullman), RR 7 Canora SK, priors for B&E, auto theft, petty theft
  • Gilbert Graves (AKA Ghost Rider), 2413 Ave K, Scottsbluff NB, priors for drunk & disorderly and petty theft
  • Ann Oakes (AKA Annie Oakley, Quickdraw), General Delivery Miles City MT, priors for fraud and busking w/o license

All four have been charged with assault and causing a disturbance. All four have made bail, and have high-powered legal representation — all from the same firm (Wolfram and Hart, out of Toronto). A search of their financials revealed that all four had recently received large payments from a numbered Alberta company: McElroy got US$25,000, Cowburn got C$30,000, Graves got US$35,000, Oakes got US$45,000. The firm is a dummy, no real office, listed contacts are fake, etc. ANWPP think its a dead end, but then Hammer makes a brilliant deduction, and remembers a recent intel report that Russian Intelligence were funnelling money into Canada to disrupt the operation of its democracy, possibly to destabilize Canada due to the presence of Canadian troops on a NATO mission in Ukraine. ANWPP and AISS take notes to investigate links between Russian Intelligence and the numbered company. ANWPP give Stick the name and number of the investigators on the money trail, to pass on to Ghost who was unable to make the meeting.

Mike decides to text Trilobite about Jimmy Cowburn, since Trilobite is in SK (and from there), he might have some insight, or be able to follow up on things from that end.

The meeting breaks up.

Days pass. Some of the gang go to the Stampede. Work progresses on the shelter belt at the farm. “Free Elections Now” protesters picket the Premier’s Pancake Breakfast, but are well behaved and there are no arrests. A group of them gets onto the roof of the Grandstand during the Friday night Grandstand Show, and abseil down deploying banners. All protesters are “normals”. Some suggest they had super-powered help getting onto the Grandstand roof, others say its an easy climb. An internet flame war ensues.

The days turn to weeks, and soon it is August. Free Election protests flare up from time to time. The “Mutant Rule Now” campaign is lower key, mostly grafitti and internet trolls, but the CRA web site was hacked with “Mutant Rule Now” content and a VERY intolerant manifesto.

Ben gets a phone call. He was enroute to visit Agatha and the Brat Pack with Polly, but is stopping briefly at his ACA studio when the call comes it. It is from Brenda Gordon at CPS. “We have reports of supers fighting in the parking lot at Chinook Centre, can you respond? It looks like it is those federal heroes, Redcoat and Electron, and some orange furry fellow”. The Posse deploys, Ben and Polly from ACA, and Stick, Alphonse and Hammer from the Secret Base-ment.

Arriving at Chinook Centre, it looks like the fighting has ended. Several cars are damaged, one is inverted and two are badly bent. Embedded in one of the badly bent cars is an orange, simian looking character, who is unconscious. Electron is standing over him/her, but lifts off and raises his force-field as the Posse approaches. Redcoat seems to be searching the ground for something. Stick approaches Redcoat, Psyclist and Gallowglas approach the furry creature. Stick asks Redcoat what they are doing, and he replies that they are looking for a super from the PMO who took classified documents, called The Mighty Gnat.

While Stick and Redcoat talk, Psyclist telepathically scans the orange fur ball and discovers:

  • he’s a she
  • she’s also an orangutan, and very sensitive of being called a “monkey”
  • she goes by the nom du guerre of “The Librarian”
  • she’s also with the House of Commons Security Detail
  • they are here looking for the Mighty Gnat, and to recover the documents in his possession

After a somewhat heated discussion, Redcoat says they’ve lost the trail, and will return to the Harry Hayes building to regroup. He gives Stick his card, with a local phone number and office number at the Harry Hayes building. If you come across him, or this document, PLEASE contact us. It is a matter of National Security.

Electron and Redcoat fly off, with Electron carrying The Librarian. A moment later, a shadow disappears on the roof of a building across McLeod Trail, and an orange-and-green suited figure also flies off (Canopener).

Ben and Polly resume their interrupted trip to visit Agatha and the kids. Stick calls the Premier to get direction on dealing with the request to find and turn over The Mighty Gnat. The response is: if they have a warrant signed by an Alberta judge, fine, if they have no warrant, give them nothing, if they have a warrant signed by a Federal judge, send it up the line for evaluation, and on your own judgement you can detain the subject pending extradition proceedings.

Stick, Hammer and Tia get back in the SUV to return to the Secret Base-ment. The car shifts, like someone is standing on it. A voice calls from the floor by the passenger seat “I request asylum from the Government of Alberta”. There is a tiny man standing on the floor, near Stick’s feet.

Stick arranges a meeting back at McDougall Centre. Once in the secure conference room, Bob Miyati (AKA The Mighty Gnat) returns to full size and introduces himself. He had worked for the PMO since before the Mutation Virus, and since before the Harper Government, training bodyguards. He reports things have been getting strange, and he had become concerned about some of the goings-on, and had begun snooping. When he stumbled on this document, he became alarmed and grabbed it, and took it to a trusted friend in the media. The friend turned him in. He’s been on the run for days, and felt he had to run to Alberta to find people he could trust with it.

He turns over the document.

It is on PMO letter head, and is a status report on various blacker-than-black projects. Oh my, says the Deputy Superintendent of the ANWPP. He turns the document over to Stick, saying what do you think of this?

“All I see is a blank sheet of paper”, Stick says, handing the sheet to Psyclist, “someone will have to read it to me”. Which Psyclist does. Faces drop, and stunned looks become prevalent. Stick says, “Well, I think you are ‘Subject CHARLIE’” while gesturing at Polly, “and you” gesturing at Mike Hammer “are Subject ECHO”. People at the table are even more aghast.

Psyclist says “Am I alone in thinking that that is a termination order?”. Everyone indicates that they agree that it is one, for both BUBBLES and Subject CHARLIE.

There is much discussion about who is BUBBLES, who is Subject BAKER, what to do next, who to tell and who to not tell, and whether the “Commons Security Detail” could be counted on to protect an MP charged with Treason and the subject of an arrest warrant.

The meeting ends with instructions for senior staffers to brief their ministers, and that they will meet again after cabinet reaches a decision on how to handle things. Stick will contact Trilobite about possible candidates for DEADEYE.


Experience awarded:

Gallowglas, Alphonse, Stick: 2 non-combat Mike Hammer: 3 non-combat (bonus for Impaling Deduction, experimentation with Psyclist) Psyclist: 3 non-combat (bonus for telepathy experimentation with Hammer) Ghost and Jazz were absent.

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